Conservatives are closing ranks around William Hague after the foreign secretary's dramatic personal statement in which he denied ever having a relationship with a man, and outlined his struggle to start a family.

Ministers said they hoped the Hagues would be given some space after his deeply personal statement. "William is a private and self-contained person," one minister said. "He will not be enjoying this. It will be very hard for him."

Hague is held in great respect and affection after he led the party in a difficult period after Labour's landslide election victory.

Another minister said David Cameron would be determined to ensure Hague remained on board. "David was absolutely thrilled when he persuaded William to come back to frontline politics. He will therefore be determined to keep him. He is at the heart of the government and attends the important meetings."

While there was widespread sympathy for Hague across the party, many Tories believe the foreign secretary has shown poor judgment once again. Many Conservatives have long questioned Hague's judgment after he described Jeffrey Archer as a man of "probity and integrity". More recently, Cameron was irritated when Hague kept quiet about the tax affairs of Lord Ashcroft.

Senior Tories, whose concerns about Hague's handling of the row are shared in Downing Street, believe he made two key mistakes in recent months. They believe it was wrong to make Christopher Myers a special adviser in the Foreign Office, rather than giving him a job in his parliamentary office. It was also a mistake to share a twin room with him during the election campaign.

"It would have been better if William had not shared a hotel room with this chap," one Tory said. "It would have been better if William had employed this young man in parliament, rather than making him a special adviser, because he basically does constituency work. I don't believe the appointment was improper. The reasons for making him a special adviser were flimsy."

Cabinet ministers are usually entitled to two special advisers. Hague took his two long-standing and respected foreign policy advisers – Arminka Helic and Denzil Davidson – into the Foreign Office with him after the election.

But on 24 May he appointed Myers as a third special adviser. The Foreign Office defended the appointment on the grounds that Myers would help him with his additional duties as the first secretary of state. This was a title awarded to Hague by David Cameron to demonstrate that he is his Conservative party "deputy in all but name" and involves no extra ministerial duties other than a key role on numerous cabinet committees.

Tories pointed out that Myers would help Hague in his role liaising with the party in the north of England. His foreign office duties included advising Hague on British overseas territories such as the Falkland Islands. One Tory said: "The one part of this that makes me wince is the appointment of this guy as a special adviser. That was an error of judgment."

Hague's office has been thrown into disarray over the last two weeks after the Mail on Sunday published old pictures of Hague and Myers joking around as they put on their sunglasses. "The pictures are excruciatingly ghastly," one Tory said. Another said: "The pictures were absolutely dreadful."

There was also surprise that Hague had shared a twin room with Myers, though it was accepted that unusual arrangements are often made during a general election campaign. "That is a ridiculous thing to do," one Conservative said. "Why do that? Even if it is as innocent as the driven snow you should not do that. William has a very special place in the Conservative party. He walks on water. But there will be disappointment."

Tories said they believe Hague's statement that he has not been involved in a relationship with Myers. But they drew parallels with his close friendship with Lord Coe, his chief of staff and judo partner when Hague was Tory leader. "He was quite smitten," one Tory said.